1977 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 15-35
In 1860s and 70s, when the primitive accumulation was intensively carried out on the government's initiative, modern iron producing and processing industries began to develop in Russia. In this period the industry, which produced locomotives, rolling stocks and rails for railroad, was chiefly developed by the government. The development of the industry depended on the government's support, railroad construction and the import of means of production. But in the early 80s, when the public finance and the balance of payments had a vast deficit, the dependence came to be impossible. Then the iron producing and processing industries had to change the contents of products, from products for railroad to ones for private market. The reason why the change was possible was that in those days the great industry was established in light industries and some industries began to develop in heavy industries. While this process of change meant that the main industries in the iron producing and processing industries, iron and steel industry and the industry which produced machines and apparatus for private market, were being formed. For that reason that change was "Structural Change". Under these circumstances the structure of reproduction, of which the iron producing and processing industries were the nucleus, was basicly formed. Namely Russian capitalism was established. The establishment changed the roles of government and railroad. Namely in 1880s the emphasis of industrial administration shifted from support to some heavy industries to protective tariff policy. Railroad gave its top seat in the course of development of the capitalism. But the iron producing and processing industries conceived distortion. The distortion meant the disproportional development of iron and steel industry and the undergrouth of production of precision machines. The manner of development of Russian capitalism and the international relations of Russia caused the distortion. So the wider capitalism developed, the graver the distortion became.
